An essential skill for school leaders and coaches is learning how to share ideas in a way that does not shut down teachers' voices, ideas, and thinking. The authors refer to this type of conversation as a partnering conversation. This article identifies two categories of conversations, telling and partnering, along with two kinds of partnering…

Children with typical hearing and vision learn to communicate by watching and listening to others. But children who are deafblind have limited access to learning this way. They need knowledgeable educators who understand how deafblindness impacts learning--who know how to assess a child's communication and plan for and engage in meaningful…

As education is a global concern, utilising educational technology to facilitate teaching and learning activities has been widely practised almost everywhere at every minute for decades. Revisiting the historical development of a particular technology is noteworthy to education practitioners, historians and various interested parties. Concerning…

"Autism at-a-Glance" is a series of practitioner and family-friendly documents created by the Center on Secondary Education for Students with ASD (CSESA) designed for high school staff members supporting students on the autism spectrum, as well as family members of adolescents with ASD. The purpose of the "Autism at-a-Glance"…

Shared interactive book reading (SIBR) is a broad term used to describe the act of adults reading aloud to children, while encouraging interaction by asking questions and engaging in a discussion about the book. SIBR can be used to embed naturalistic communication teaching strategies, creating learning opportunities to promote a child's language…

Professionals and communication partners report experiencing challenges with regard to developing the knowledge and skills needed to support individuals with complex communication needs who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). These challenges can be exacerbated in rural and remote areas where access to resources and training may…

Families are the most significant communication partners for an individual with complex communication needs. Even though family-centered approaches are recommended to support augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) services for an individual, it is difficult to establish a successful plan that fits each individual's family. A framework…

Culturally diverse educational settings can be challenging to navigate as participants in these settings risk misinterpreting others from different cultures. This article highlights six strategies school community members can use to foster positive cross-cultural interactions while exhibiting and modeling professional teacher dispositions: (1)…

Supporting the development of skills associated with self-determination (e.g., goal setting and attainment, problem solving) and providing opportunities to practice those skills impacts valued school and postschool outcomes of students with complex communication needs. To address this need, the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI)…

"Autism at-a-Glance" is designed for high school staff members supporting students on the autism spectrum, as well as family members of adolescents on the autism spectrum. This issue focuses on understanding and improving the communication skills of adolescents on the autism spectrum. The content specifically targets the needs of…

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience conversational or pragmatic language difficulties which can interfere with reciprocal and sustained social interactions with peers (Paul, Orlovski, Marcinko, & Volkmar, 2009). Peer mediated intervention (PMI), in which typical peers serve as mentors, is emerging as an effective high…

In 2004, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act outlined specific considerations for students with individual education programs in relation to their needs and application of assistive technology (AT) devices and services used to access school curriculum. Teachers will interact with a variety of assistive technologies during their career…

Want to send a message that 99% of your audience will read? Many Extension professionals are familiar with using social media tools to enhance Extension programming. Extension professionals may be less familiar with the use of mobile phone text-based marketing tools. The purpose of this article is to introduce SMS (short message system) marketing…

In a spring 2021 survey of California Community College students exploring the impact of COVID-19 on their transfer journey, the RP Group identified colleges where students felt highly satisfied with the transfer support and communication they were receiving during the pandemic. To better understand what these community colleges were doing to…

Social competency is a set of skills that provide children with the tools and abilities to successfully navigate the world around them. "Developing Social Competency in Young Children" looks at each of the seven Cs of social competence--communication, community building, coping, confidence, conflict resolution, control, and curiosity.…